Critics warn on state child law reforms

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THE State Government's reforms to child protection risk creating
a new stolen generation, according to the man who co-ordinated
Victoria's child psychiatric services for almost 20 years.

Dr Allan Mawdsley said the reforms, which include
"fast-tracking" children at risk into permanent care, undermined
the chances of families reuniting and were written by the
Department of Human Services (DHS) to suit its needs rather than
those of children.

The Sunday Age has also found that lawyers working at the
Children's Court, clinical psychologists and welfare agencies have
serious concerns about the reforms, introduced in Parliament last
week.

Senior lawyers say staff at the Children's Court Clinic who
provide to magistrates assessments of children at risk are outraged
that under the changes their reports will be routinely released to
the department and could be used by DHS in protection cases.

Solicitor Joe Gorman, who has practised at the Children's Court
for 30 years, said: "If this is enacted into law, you'd have to
tell your client they need to be mindful that anything they said
would be likely to finish up in a DHS file. That would make them
fairly careful about speaking freely, and as soon as you stop
speaking freely, it tends to defeat the whole purpose of that sort
of assessment."

Dr Suzanne Dean, a clinical psychologist who has consulted at
the clinic, said: "In my opinion the function of the Children's
Court Clinic is going to be completely distorted by the
legislation."

Solicitor Andrew McGregor said DHS disliked the Children's Court
meddling in what it regarded as its province. "Our perception is
that this department is every bit as maverick as DIMIA (Department
of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs)," he
said.

Critics are also worried about provisions that extend the power
of DHS to compel doctors and other medical staff, government
departments, educational services and children's agencies to give
records and other information about children.

The wide-ranging Children, Youth and Families Bill, introduced
by the Community Services Minister, Sherryl Garbutt, represents the
first major overhaul of child protection laws in 16 years. While
the State Government says the removal of children is a last resort
and that intensive work with families is a central goal, critics
say there is nothing in the bill that makes it a legal requirement
for the government first to provide remediation, education or
therapy to families before considering removing their children.

"When you look at it more closely, there's a complete lack of
commitment by the Government to put up the necessary resources
to give that child and the family the best chance of staying
together," said John Tobin, a former Children's Court lawyer and
senior lecturer in law at Melbourne University.

The bill intends to prevent vulnerable children being repeatedly
shunted between out-of-home care and failed reunification with
their birth parents.

The DHS will be required to create "stability plans" under which
protective workers will have to decide if continued attempts at
reunification are worthwhile after a prescribed period of time. An
option then would be placing children into permanent care, where
another family becomes their legal and custodial guardian.

Dr Mawdsley was the state's co-ordinator of child psychiatric
services for 19 years until 1995, then director of the Alfred Child
and Adolescent Mental Health Service. He is now president of Mental
Health for the Young and their Families in Victoria, a voluntary
group dedicated to improving the child mental health system.

He warned: "While virtually everyone supports the idea of
children being in a stable home environment for their critical
formative years, the proposed legislation will attempt this without
adequate safeguards. We risk creating a whole new 'stolen
generation'."

Dr Mawdsley was supported in this view by the director of the
Children's Court Clinic, Dr Patricia Brown, who issued a similar
warning in a submission to the Government.

Ms Garbutt rejected the criticism and said the reforms followed
more than two years of consultation with many community and other
groups. She said a key aim was earlier intervention with families
to keep them together, and working harder to get children back to
their families.

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1128563036351-theage.com.auhttp://www.theage.com.au/news/national/critics-warn-on-state-child-law-reforms/2005/10/08/1128563036351.htmltheage.com.auThe Age2005-10-09Critics warn on state child law reformsWilliam BirnbauerNational